Federal File

Dot-com This

Federal lawmakers are hoping to create a child-friendly haven on the
Web. In the process, they're generating bruised feelings about American
unilateralism.

A bipartisan measure, sponsored by Reps. John Shimkus, R-Ill., and
Edward J. Markey, D-Mass., would set up a new Internet "domain" that
would serve as a reliable source of material appropriate for young
Web-surfers.

Originally, the legislation would have created a ".kids" domain, on
an equal footing with primary domains, such as the ubiquitous ".com."
But some feared that would violate international agreements that give
the Internet Corp. for Assigned Names and Numbers, based in Marina del
Rey, Calif., the lead role in creating worldwide domains.

So this month, the legislators came up with a plan to set up a
secondary domain appending the ".us" domain. Such sites would end with
".kids.us."

Rep. Billy Tauzin,R-La., the House technology subcommittee chairman,
said the change would help parents easily find educational and other
suitable Web sites for children.

"Although there are enormous benefits that flow from the Internet,
parents' and children's advocates have long complained that it offers a
wide window to material that is inappropriate, even harmful, for
children," he said this month at a hearing on the legislation. "The
'.us' space provides us with a guarantee that a safe space for children
will be created."

One federal official noted, though, that many Web sites already
provide directions to child-friendly sites, and that tools such as
filtering devices help keep youngsters away from adults-only
material.

"While I support the legislation, the mechanisms contemplated in
both versions raise substantial policy and legal concerns," said Nancy
J. Victory, who heads the National Telecommunications and Information
Administration. "Our international allies have a strongly held aversion
to the United States' efforts to assert its national will on the
Internet, a global resource."